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May 2019 www.intellinews.com I Page 8
other competitive advantages, such as exemptions from the VAT, customs duties, and registration and certification requirements.
Reportedly the proposal is being studied by
the government-linked think tanks, the Gaidar Institute, and the Russian Ports. The cross-border traders are opposing the initiative and see it as too radical of a measure.
Previously the government already showed intention to tighten the imports duties for foreign on-line purchases as Russian Federal Customs Service (FTS) plans to introduce a levy on any purchases in foreign online stores and delivered to Russia starting in 2020.
While further increases would improve the competitive position of domestic players, such measures risk increasing the end cost to consumer and the average ticket, which in
turn risks slowing down the growth of e-trade in Russia and impairing the development of e-commerce infrastructure, industry experts surveyed by Kommersant daily warn.
Instead of fighting for the domestic market, Russian online players could focus on overseas expansion, they suggest.
Russia's online exports of goods could reach $10bn in 3-7 years, according to the estimates of eBay Russia and Emerging Europe cited by Prime on March 28.
The market was valued at $430mn in 2016 with only 0.3% of Russian SMEs exporting their goods online, Ilya Kretov of eBay estimated. The figure in Western Europe is at 7%-8%, and Russia has enormous 25-fold upside potential, he argues.
In 2018 the online exports of Russian goods increased by 36% to $746mn.